


The Watching Angel

by orphan_account



Category: Septiplier - Fandom, youtube - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, angel au, hospital au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-07
Updated: 2016-03-17
Packaged: 2018-05-25 09:48:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 15,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6189718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>To Mark, angels were just the bringers of death. Vultures, waiting to harvest the next soul. But maybe, just maybe, this one would be okay.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Positive News

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my failed one-shot. ~~yes, failed one-shot~~
> 
> Four or five days ago, I watched jacksepticeye's playthrough "That Dragon, Cancer". I also read a septiplier story called "Your Angel" by Moonfire14. This is the product. ~~this should count as an 'inspired work', right? should I mark it as an inspired work? welcome to give me tips.~~
> 
> I hope that you will enjoy this journey.

Mark hated these white walls. He had never understood why they were white, but he guessed it had to do something with cleanness. Which was just ironic, because he had come to associate white walls with sickness. He had seen enough of them when he himself was a child, but it seemed like the walls weren’t finished with him just yet, despite him being healthy. No, this time they had taken someone very dear to him, and that made him hate these walls, these corridors, even more.

 

Mark felt a tug at his hand and he looked down to the young boy beside him, the child looking at him with big blue eyes.

“Daddy, can we buy some snacks to bring with us?” The child said and pointed towards a vending machine. Mark looked towards it before he chuckled.

“Of course, Tim. Pick out something for you and your brother.” He said and watched as the boy cheered and ran the short distance to the vending machine. The child pushed himself up on his toes to get a better look at the candy higher up. Mark smirked as he walked up behind Tim and lifted the boy up into his arms. Tim gave out a squeal before he started to giggle.

“Got a better view there, buddy?” Mark asked and Tim nodded furiously before he pressed his face against the glass. Mark stood there for a bit, letting Tim get a good look at the candy. As Mark’s muscles started to hurt a bit from carrying the boy, Tim pointed towards a candybar.

“That one! For both of us!” He exclaimed and Mark looked at the candy. He shrugged a little before he put Tim down and paid the money needed for the candy.  
Two candy bars fell down and Tim quickly snatched them.

“Sam is going to be so happy with this!” Tim said as he giggled. Mark smiled fondly at Tim, but he couldn’t help the sad feeling swelling in his chest. He ruffled the child’s light brown hair and made it a mess.

“Come on, kiddo. Let’s not keep him waiting.” He said and Tim nodded before he rushed off. Mark calmly walked after him, not worried at all that Tim would get lost. He knew the way to the room like the back of his hand. That thought made Mark’s heart clench again. No child should ever be able to know a hospital inside out.  
The passing nurses greeted Mark with a familiarity that should have been sickening, but Mark couldn’t blame them for being in this forsaken place. He knew that they just wanted to help, and they had. It wasn’t enough at the moment.

 

Mark came to his destination soon enough, and the door was slightly open, indicating that someone had forgotten to close the door after them. From the inside he could hear laughter. He closed his eyes for a moment and let himself pretend that he wasn’t in a forsaken hospital, but in their living room, just the three of them. He opened his eyes again and the illusion was gone. With a quiet sigh, he pushed the door open.  
He was greeted by the sight of two children sitting on a bed and Tim chatting happily, his arms all over the place as he spoke. Tim paused his story telling as he noticed the door swing open and both children turned their stare towards the door. The other child shone up at the sight of Mark and hurriedly stood up on the bed.

“Dad!” He exclaimed and Mark quickly walked over to the bed. The child jumped of the bed and Mark was forced to catch him. The child in his arms giggled as Mark held him closely.

“Woah, Sam! Take it easy there! Do you want to break your dad’s bones?” He said and both children burst out laughing. Mark smiled at the sound, it was the most wonderful thing in the world.

“I’m not that heavy!” Sam said with a pout and Mark gave a laugh.

“If you say so, big boy!” Mark said and put down Sam on the bed again. He grinned up at Mark and Mark patted his bald head. Mark almost frowned as he thought that Sam had seemed a little bit lighter than the last time Mark had been here.

“Sam, have you been eating properly?” He asked and the child adverted his eyes from him.

“The food is jucky and tasteless, and they won’t let me eat pizza.” Sam mumbled before he looked back at Mark with puppy eyes.

“Please, dad, I want to go home! It’s boring here and it’s scary at night! I want to go home!” He said as tears started to appear in his eyes. Mark’s heart broke more than once at those sad, blue eyes and he gently hugged Sam.

“I know, sweetie, I know. But you need to stay for a little longer, okay? I know you can do it, you are the big and brave Septic Sam, remember?” He said, willing his voice not to crack. Sam had buried his face in his shoulder and Mark could feel his shirt getting a bit wet.

“Yeah! You are the one who scare everything scary away! You are the hero Septic Sam while I’m your sidekick, Tiny Tim!” Tim exclaimed and made both Mark and Sam look at him. Tim beamed up at Sam with the biggest smile he ever had and Sam rubbed away his tears before he smiled back.

“Yeah! And we are going to fight all the bad in the world!” He said as he plopped down in front of Tim and the two started to chatter away excitedly again. Mark chuckled at the sight and grabbed a chair to sit down beside the bed but before he could sit down, he was interrupted by a cough behind him. The two children paused in their talking to look at the newcomer. Mark looked over his shoulder to look at the door. There stood a man in a blue and white attire with some paper in his hands.

“Mr. Fischbach? Could we speak for a moment?” He said and Mark straightened up. He threw the two children a smile.

“I’ll be back soon.” He said and walked out of the room with the man. He carefully closed the door behind him before he turned towards the doctor.

“You wished to speak with me?” He said, dread already filling his stomach.

“Yes. Sam’s treatment seem to be going in the right direction and if it continues this way, he will be going home in two months.” The doctors said and Mark felt relief wash over him before his brain registered one word.

“‘Seem’?” He asked as his stomach knotted itself again. The doctor tensed up a little before he let out a sigh.

“Your son’s cancer are of the aggressive sort. It’s rather unpredictable, but we haven’t found any more of it in his body for some time now. If his treatment ends without anymore cells appearing, then he’s free from the cancer. And he will be able to go home. Focus on the good, Mr. Fischbach, not the bad.” He said and patted Mark’s shoulder before he left. Mark stared after the man before he let relief wash over him completely. A smile ghosted his lips and he turned around to walk back into the room again.

 

Sam and Tim were playing loudly on the bed, having found some of the toys that had been in the room. Mark smiled bigger at the sight and he sat down in the chair by the bed. He watched the two boys play with all of their heart’s might and he smiled fondly at them. Two months. They could do that. They would get through it and they would go home. All three of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the curious one: I had planned this as a one-shot. I ended up with 29 pages of story. That's a first for me. So I decided that I would break it up into smaller chapters.  
> I will update everyday until the story has ended.
> 
> Also: does this format of text work for you guys? Is it too hard to read, or is it good? You are welcome to give me tips on how I can improve my writing.
> 
> Enjoy :3  
>  ~~I'm now going to return to my life and sleep and actually answering messages~~


	2. A New Friend?

Mark held the bag with the sandwiches close to him as he walked down the white corridors. He was sick of walking down these halls, but he would walk them as long as he needed to. He had someone waiting for him.

 

He arrived at Sam’s room and grabbed the handle to open the door. He began to push it open but paused when he heard Sam’s laughter. He frowned slightly and pushed the door completely open. He was met the sight of Sam sitting in his bed and an unknown man sitting beside the bed. Two pair of blue eyes looked at him as both Sam and the man noticed him, Sam smiling bigger at the sight of his father.

“Dad!” He exclaimed happily as he basically bounced in his bed. Mark closed the door behind him and walked over to Sam, smiling at him but keeping the stranger in his sight. The man didn’t move an inch, and was that wings behind him? Mark shook his head to clear his thoughts and turned his attention towards Sam.

“Hello, Sam. How is my big boy today?” He said with a smile as he hugged Sam. Sam basically clinged to his father.

“I’m great! And, and, and! I met a new friend today! His name is Jack and he is really cool! He’s funny like you and he makes me forget that I’m here!” Sam said with an excitement that only a child could muster. Mark couldn’t help but to chuckle at that. He threw a glance at the stranger that had yet to make a movement, the only thing that seemed to have been moving was his eyes.

“Well, why don’t you introduce me to him then?” Mark said as he broke out of the hug. Sam nodded furiously and turned towards the other man.

“Dad, this is Jack! Jack, this is my dad, the coolest guy I have ever known!” He said with a beaming smile as he gestured between the two adults. Mark extended his hand towards the man and smiled.

“Hello, my name is Mark. Pleasure to meet you.” He said and let his hand hang in the air. The man didn’t move to take the hand or to introduce himself. After an awkward minute, Mark let his hand fall back to his side.

“He seems like the quiet type.” He stated and Sam huffed.

“He is just a bit shy! He’ll come around!” He declared as he gave the stranger a glare. Mark nodded slowly as he sat down in the chair beside the bed, on the opposite side of the other man.

“Here, I brought some sandwiches with me.” Mark said as he put the bag in Sam’s lap. Sam shone up again and quickly dug through the bag before pulling out a sandwich. Mark chuckled as Sam began to ate as if he never had eaten before. Mark glanced at the man and noted that he was still staring at him.

“So, Sam, tell me more about your friend.” Mark said as he focused back on his child. Sam nodded before swallowing a bite.

“Jack is really cool! He makes me laugh, he’s so funny! When he was going to come in here, he knocked on the window, and when I opened he tried to fly in-he has these reeeeeally big wings!- but he didn’t fit and he fell flat on his face! He tried to act nonchalant but his ears were red! It was so funny and made me laugh so hard that my sides hurt!” He said as he tried to recreate the scenario from the place on his bed. Mark glanced at the man and saw that his face was getting red from something that looked embarrassment. Mark smirked a little and looked back to Sam.

“Really? Tell me more.” He said and the child happily began to tell stories about his new friend.

 

It was closing in on the end of the visitor hours. Mark had spent all of the time listening to Sam telling stories, both old and new, and about his new friend. Said friend had barely been moving and hadn’t interacted with them at all, but Sam didn’t seem to mind.  
A knock on the door made Mark and Sam pause in their storytelling and nurse looked in.

“Mr. Fischbach, visiting hour is almost over, I need you to prepare to leave.” She said and Mark nodded. She disappeared out and when Mark turned back to Sam, he looked disappointed.

“Do you really have to go again, dad?” Sam said with sadness in his voice. Mark nodded solemnly.

“I do, Sam. But I’ll come back tomorrow again, just like I have done all these days. I promise.” He said and lifted up his pinke. Sam did the same and they hooked them.

“Pinkepromise!” Sam said with a smile and Mark smiled back.

“And I’m going to be okay now! Jack told me that he was going to stay with me until the bad was gone! So when you and Tim isn’t here, he will be! He pinky promised he would watch over me!” Sam continued and Mark nodded.

“That’s great to hear, Sam. Sounds like a good guy!” He said and Sam giggled. Then Mark sighed and got up.

“I got to go, sweetie. Sleep tight tonight.” He said and gave Sam a kiss on the forehead.

“Night, dad!” Sam said and gave Mark a kiss on the cheek before he nestled down into the covers. Mark smiled slightly before he glanced at the man again. He still hadn’t moved from his spot. Mark sighed before getting out of the room and the hospital.


	3. Talk to me

As Mark continued to visit Sam the following week, he always saw the winged man, Jack, beside Sam’s bed. He barely moved from his spot and he never interacted with them when Mark or Tim were there. And as the week went, Mark noticed that Sam was treating Jack as an imaginary friend whenever a doctor or a nurse came inside. He didn’t do that as much when it was just Mark and Tim there, but since Jack didn’t interact with them or anything like that, it was hard to believe that the man was there. And if Mark was honest, he believed that Tim didn’t see their extra guest. But the boy just spoke to the man despite that fact whenever Sam talked to him. He had even defended Sam and his friend when a nurse had questioned them.  
_“Of course he exist! If Sam says he does, he does! He just have these invincible powers that he can’t control!”_ The boy had said at that time. After that, Tim had always thrown a glare at that nurse and refused to let her close to Sam. Mark had found it highly amusing and adorable and only shrugged his shoulders when that nurse had demanded that he would remove Tim from the room so she could work properly. The whole ordeal had ended with Sam getting a new nurse instead.

 

On the eighth day after Mark had first seen the winged man in Sam’s room, he carried a bag containing four sandwiches instead of the normal number of three. Tim was running in front of him as they walked down the white halls. Tim tackled the door open when he reached the door and ran straight for the bed.

“Hi, Sam! Hi, Jack!” He said happily as climbed up on Sam’s bed. Mark walked in after him and chuckled as Sam and Tim immediately started to get into a deep conversation. Mark saw how Jack rose up from the chair he was sitting in and silently walked over to the far end of the room, letting the two children be. He had only ever moved away from Sam’s side when Tim came to visit.  
Mark shook his head with a smile, closed the door behind him and walked over to the two children.

“Hi, dad!” Sam said with a smile and Mark returned the smile.

“Hi, Sam. How’s it going?” He said as he sat down beside the bed. That question sent Sam on a storytelling of something Jack had told him earlier. Mark chuckled and Tim listened with all of the focus he could muster. Mark closed his eyes as he listened to his son’s voice.

 

After some time, Mark picked up two sandwiches and handed them to Sam and Tim, who started to happily munch on the food. Tim was the one talking now, telling Sam about one of his adventures in school.  
Mark silently rose up from his seat and walked over to the place where Jack was standing. He noticed how Jack looked at him, but didn’t otherwise move. Mark stood now by Jack’s side and leaned onto the wall, facing Sam’s bed. He reached his hand into the bag and pulled out one sandwich and held it out to Jack. Jack stared at him and Mark smiled back. When the man didn’t make any move, Mark rolled his eyes.

“Take it. It’s for you.” He said and Jack just continued to stare at him, but after some moments he hesitantly reached out and took the sandwich. Mark’s smile turned into a grin as he reached into the bag again and took out the last sandwich. He took a big bite out of it and chew on it before swallowing.

“Thanks for keeping Sam company when I can’t be here.” He said after a moment of silence. He looked back at Jack and saw him staring at him. Mark raised an eyebrow at him.

“Yes, I can see you. There is no need to be that spooked out by it.” He said in a try to make the man speak. He sighed when he didn’t get an answer and turned his gaze back to Sam and Tim. In the corner of his eyes he saw how the man took a bite of his sandwich and chew on it. The chatter of the two children was soon the only sound in the room.

“Sam is a good kid.” A unfamiliar voice said beside Mark. He glanced towards Jack and saw the other man smile fondly towards the children. Mark let a smile come to his lips.

“He is.” Mark said and stood there for a moment while eating up his sandwich. He turned towards the winged man and stretched out his hand.

“Now that you are finally talking to me, let’s introduce us properly. I’m Mark, Sam’s and Tim’s father.” He said and Jack looked at him, his hand and then up to his face again. He took his hand and they shook hands. Mark noted how the touch was warm and comfortable.

“I’m Jack.” He said and Mark saw how his wings twitched a little. They let go of each other’s hands and looked at the other for a little while.

“I must admit that I’m rather surprised that ya can see me, Mark.” Jack said and Mark shrugged.

“I’ve seen your kind before. Though you are the first one I actually interact with.” He said as if it were no big deal. Jack choked on the bite he had taken of his sandwich and started to cough. Mark patted him on the back as Jack doubled over. When he stopped coughing, he looked up at Mark with wide eyes.

“Ya’ve… Seen us before?” He said and Mark nodded. Jack straightened up and looked intensly at Mark.

“When?” He demanded. Mark rolled his eyes and waved his hand in a gesture to make Jack relax.

“Relax. I-” He began but got interrupted by Jack.

“Relax?! We are not meant to be seen, or interact for that matter, by others than our Charges! How the fuck am I supposed to relax when someone suddenly can see us?!” He hissed out and Mark couldn’t help but to laugh at the sight. Jack looked like a kitten trying to make itself look bigger and more threatening than it is, with his wings fanned out and slight red face. Jack’s face became redder at Mark’s laughter and Mark just laughed harder at that.

“Daddy?” Tim said and Mark forced himself to calm down to chukles. He looked up to see the two children looking at him. He let out another chuckle as he straightened up and smiled to them.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt you, boys. Jack just told me something funny.” He said and glanced at the other man. His face was still red and even his ears were red. Mark had to do everything to not burst out laughing again. Sam shined up at that.

“See! I told you he was a funny guy!” He said happily and Mark nodded.

“He really is.” He said and smirked. The two children went back to their game and Mark turned fully towards Jack again. Jack had returned to eating his sandwich, he seemed to only take small bites this time. And Mark could clearly see the adult pouting. Mark smirk grew wider.

“You pouting? How adorable.” He said and Jack spluttered. Mark snickered at the reaction. Jack glared at him before he returned to his pouting.  
Mark let himself calm down and Jack finish his sandwich before he spoke up again.

“What I was going to say before you interrupted me, was that I have always been able to see your kind. Ever since I was a kid. They never took notice of me when I tried to talk to them so eventually I gave up and let them be.” He said with a shrug and Jack looked back towards Mark.

“So if ya gave up interacting with my kind, why are ya talking to me now?” He asked and Mark smiled sadly.

“Because you are watching Sam, my son. Need to know if you are a good guy or not.” He said and Jack nodded slowly.

“That’s logical, I suppose.” He said and they fell into silence once again.  
Mark broke the silence again, this time Jack had to strain his ears to hear what Mark said.

“Sam is going to get worse, isn’t he?”  
Jack felt his heart drop at the sadness in Mark’s voice. He looked away and bit his lip. Mark let out a dry laugh.

“You weren’t watching him when he was going through his earlier treatments, meaning he still had a chance on life. But now you are here, watching him. That means he is going to get worse, much much worse. He’s probably going to die, right?” Mark said and he felt how a tear slid down his cheek. Jack snapped his head back towards Mark and suck in a breath.

“No! Just because I watch him, it doesn’t mean he will die! He will have just as much of a chance as everyone else!” Jack hurriedly said, somehow trying to cheer the man beside him up. Mark shook his head.

“I know. It’s just… It’s more common that they die, right? I’ve seen so many of your kind carrying away their charges when they died, so I have come to see you as Death Angels. You stay by their side until they have died of their sickness or what else that are threatening their lives.” He said in a whisper. Jack sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

“We are not Reapers, they are much more nastier than us. We are Watchers, not quite a Guardian, but something like that. We are the company when someone are going through a really tough period of time. We make them forget the world around them and make them laugh, we hold their hand when the pain is too much, we comfort them when all they do is cry. We are the company when no one else is there.” He said and turned his eyes towards Mark.

“We can’t see much of the future, but I know that Sam is going to be alone for quite some time in the coming time. That’s why I’m here. He will be - _is_ \- in need of company and I’m going to be that company. That’s my job and I’m going to do it. That’s all I know and I’m going to do my best at not letting him down.” He said and Mark didn’t move.

“I don’t know why Sam was in need of me, but I’m going to stay by his side until I’m not needed anymore. I’m staying until the bad is gone.” He said and put a comforting hand on Mark’s shoulder. Mark didn’t move for quite a while before he finally nodded.  
The two adults didn’t say anything else during the rest of the visit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is this format better than the one I previously used? What do you think? I'll go back and change the other chapters to this if you guys think that this is better.


	4. Leave

The coming weeks were filled with laughter and hope. Mark had come to enjoy Jack’s company he himself and he almost wondered how he could have lived without the Irish angel’s presence earlier. He certainly counted him as one of his best friends by now and he would miss Jack when he was gone. Maybe he could invite the other man to their home just to hang out when this was all over. Mark liked the sound of that.

 

All thoughts of friendship and happiness was blown away by one visit.

 

Mark stared at the doctor in front of him, not wanting to believe what he had just been told but at the same time not able to deny it. The words echoed inside of his head and he just wanted to shout and scream, but he did nothing of that. He just stared blankly at the doctor. He could see the doctor’s mouth move, but he didn’t register the words.  
He should have expected this. Jack was watching Sam after all. He had a vague memory of saying something like that to the angel. So he really should have expected this. Yet it came as a shock.

“-apers will be sent to your home so you can process this in peace. Then you will be able to give a clear answer to what you want us to do. We have already given you the options, so please think about them.” The doctor said and broke through Mark’s thoughts. He nodded solemnly.

“Can I go to my son now?” He asked in a hoarse voice and the doctor looked conflicted.

“I would suggest that you would go home, Mr. Fischbach, but if that’s what you want, go ahead. He should be resting at the moment.” The doctor said and Mark nodded once again before rising up and walking out of the room.  
He barely remembered the walk to Sam’s room, but he was aware that he pushed the door open. Jack looked up from his seat beside Sam’s bed to look at Mark.

“Mark!” He said and rose up to his feet, but Mark ignored the angel. He walked over to Sam’s bed and looked down at the boy sleeping there. He was paler than before, but he looked at peace at the moment. Mark checked if his chest was still moving, and breathed out a sigh of relief when he saw the small chest rise and fall.  
He sat down beside the bed and took Sam’s hand in his. This made Sam crack one eye open and smile tiredly at Mark.

“Hi, dad.” He said in a weak voice. Mark’s chest clenched and it was everything he could do to keep the tears back.

“Hi there, champion.” Mark said as he tried to return the smile.

“Where’s Tim?” Sam asked and Mark let out a shaky breath.

“He’s with Bob tonight.” He said and Sam gave a small nod.

“Dad, I’m tired.” He said and Mark started to stroke him over the head.

“I know, sweetie. Go back to sleep, I’ll stay here.” He said and watched as Sam’s eyelids became heavier and heavier.

“Promise?”

“Pinky promise.”

The child shut his eyes and drifted off to sleep. Mark gently held Sam’s hand in his own and carefully watched his son breathe.  
He tensed when he felt a warm and comforting hand on his shoulder.

“Mark-” Jack began but Mark didn’t let him.

“Go.”

“Mark, please-”

“Go. Please, just go.”

Mark was shaking and the hand hesitantly left his shoulder. He heard the window open up and he felt a gentle breeze against his skin, and then the sounds of wings pushing against the wind. The sound soon disappeared. For the first time since Jack had found his Charge, he have left his side.  
Mark sat in silence for a moment before a sob escaped his lips and he broke down. He silently wept for his son as he remembered the doctor’s words.

 

_“The cancer have resurfaced.”_


	5. I'm Not A Reaper!

For the first few days Mark ignored Jack, no matter how much the angel tried to speak with him. He pretended that he didn’t feel the comforting touches and he ignored every single word spoken by the other man.

It was a day when Bob had followed Mark to the hospital when they first spoke to each other again.

 

Mark pushed open the door, interrupting Sam’s and Jack’s conversation.

“Hey, sweetie, look who I got with me!” He said with a big smile and stepped away from the door to let in Bob into the room. Sam’s eyes shone up, but not as brightly as they usually did. He looked so tired.

“Uncle Bob!” He said happily and Bob walked in with a laugh.

“Hey, champ! Been a while, huh?” He said with a grin and sat down beside the bed. Sam smiled big at Bob.

“Too long! You are a slowpoke!” He said and Bob laughed. Mark walked up beside Bob and grinned. He once again ignored Jack. Soon the three of them started to talk about everything there is.

 

After a long talk, Mark rose up from his seat.

“I’m going to go and get some food for us. Anything special you want?” He asked and Bob shook his head.

“Whatever you take is fine by me.” He said and Mark nodded.

“Can you get me some candy, dad?” Sam asked and made puppy eyes.

“I can’t, Sam. Doctor’s orders.” Mark said and felt bad for saying no. Sam look disappointed but said nothing else. Mark sighed and left the room, barely noticing that Jack hurried after him.

“Mark!” Jack said when the two got out of the room, but Mark kept ignoring him.

“For the love of- Mark!” He shouted and Mark just picked up his speed. Jack growled in frustration before he quickly caught up with Mark and forced him through an open door.

“What the-” Mark began as he stumbled through the door and fell flat to the floor. Jack closed the door and locked it behind him before looking around, making sure it was empty. Thanks to his Irish luck, it was empty of any living person. He turned his gaze down to the man on the floor. He was met with a heated glare.

“What do you want?!” Mark growled and Jack felt his own anger rise.

“I want ya to fuckin stop ignoring me!” He shouted and Mark slowly rose up to his feet, glaring daggers at the angel.

“Congratulations, you succeeded. Now go the fuck out of my way.” Mark said in a deep and dangerous voice. If it had been any other time, Jack would have shivered pleasantly at the voice, but now it only angered him more.

“No.” He said and fanned out his wing, effectively blocking the only way out.

“I said move!” Mark yelled and took a threatening step towards Jack. Jack didn’t move an inch.

“I’m not letting ya out before we have talked!”

“We have now talked! So let me out!”

“No! This isn’t-”

Jack was cut short as Mark lunged at him. His back smacked into the door and his wings into the wall. The air left him as Mark hit him in the stomach. Jack succeeded in kicking Mark in the side and forcing the other man away from him. He pushed himself away from the door and wall and turned to face Mark. Mark rose up to his feet and glared at Jack.

“Ya need to fuckin listen, Mark!” He shouted before gritting his teeth.

“I don’t want to listen to your stupid voice, so get out of my way!” Mark shouted back before he lunged again. This time Jack was prepared and grabbed the incoming arm while he sidestepped the attack. He easily tripped Mark so he once again landed on the floor. He twisted Mark’s arm up onto his back and put a knee in the middle of Mark’s back, putting all of his weight into that one point. Mark took a sharp breath as pain started to bloom from the pressure point.

“Get off me!” He shouted and tried to struggle, but he soon stopped seeing that he couldn’t remove his arm from the uncomfortable position and he felt pain both from the kick earlier and from the knee in his back.

“Ya stupid, fuckin idiot! This is why we cloaked ourselves from human eyes all those centuries ago! All ya ever want is someone to blame when stuff go wrong!” Jack shouted in pure anger to the person beneath him.

“Ya always need an explanation to why stuff happens! Ya never can accept when it just happens! Ya are always ready to throw someone to the wolves as long as it will ease ya own pain! It’s so easy to blame someone else for something no one have control over! Just to ease ya own fuckin pain!” He continued and Mark began to shake.

“It’s your fault! If you hadn’t come here to watch over him, he wouldn’t have gotten sick again! The cancer wouldn’t have resurfaced! It’s your fucking fault! You just want to take his soul, you fucking Death Angel!” Mark yelled as he began to struggle again against Jack’s hold on him. Jack sneered and pushed his knee deeper into Mark’s back. Mark suck another sharp breath as more pain blossomed from his back.

“I’m not a fuckin Reaper! And let me come with some news to ya, Mark.” Jack growled before he leaned down to make sure Mark would hear this.

“Sam’s cancer would have resurfaced whether I was here or not.” He said in a low voice and Mark froze. He already knew that. But it was easier to blame Jack than to accept that fact. But that wasn’t fair against Jack, was it?

A sob left Mark as he started to shake. Jack eased his grip slowly and when it seemed like Mark wasn’t going to attack him anymore, he let go completely. Mark just curled into himself as he sobbed. Jack stood up and looked down to the man on the floor, feeling sadness instead of anger.

“I hate this too. Sam is a very bright child, he doesn’t deserve to die. I like Sam, and if I could, I would rip those cancer cells out of his body and cure him. But I can’t. No one has that power. There aren’t anything I can do but to keep his spirit up, because as long as he wants to live, he has a bigger chance of surviving. As long as he doesn’t give up, the fight is not over. Mark, blaming this on anyone isn’t fair. This is out of your -anyone’s- control and there is nothing we can do but believe in him and his will to live.” He said and swallowed the lump in his throat. Mark just continued to lay on the floor, crying as the hard truth crushed his defenses against it. Jack sighed and crouched down beside Mark. He put a comforting hand on Mark’s arm, but the man just flinched away from the touch. Sean’s heart clenched even more and he carefully rose up.

“I’m going back to Sam now. Come back when you are ready, he needs both of us.” He said as he turned around and walked to the door. He unlocked it and before he was able to open it, the door slammed open and in rushed two nurses. He jumped out of their way just in time and one of them gasped when they saw Mark on the floor. Jack looked at them as they started to collect the sobbing man before he turned away from the scene and walked out of the room.

 

Mark got help up and was lead to chair before the nurses gently pushed him down into it. They tried to talk to him but at first Mark didn’t hear them. He barely noted that he had gotten a blanket around his shoulders. He only snapped out of it when a familiar voice called out his name.

“Mr. Fischbach?” Sam’s doctor said and Mark focused his eyes on the man.

“Are you alright?” He asked and Mark looked down into his hands, noticing how much they were shaking. Mark let out a shaky breath and buried his head into his hands. A creak to his side told him that the doctor had sat down beside him.

“Mind telling me what happened? The nurses told me that they heard shouting from here and they couldn’t get in until the door suddenly unlocked itself.” The doctor said and Mark remained silent for a while. That’s right. Nobody else could see or hear Jack, he must have sounded really stupid. He let out another shaky breath before he spoke in an unstable voice.

“I-I g-got into a f-fight with S-Sam’s mother… I’m s-sorry if I-I disturbed a-anyone...” He mumbled and prayed that they believed the half lie and hadn’t heard the physical fight between him and Jack. The doctor nodded.

“I see. Well then, Mr. Fischbach. I suggest that you collect yourself, if you want the nurses can take you to a calmer room than this one where you can be by yourself.” He said and Mark nodded.

“I would like that.” He said in a whisper and soon he was lead to another and smaller room. He winced slightly from the pain from his side, he hoped that Jack hadn’t broken a rib on him because that would be hard to explain.

 

It was an hour after the fight that Mark returned to Sam’s room. When he entered the room he pointedly didn’t look at Jack. Bob looked up from the book he was reading, it seemed like Sam had fallen asleep.

“Hey man, what took you so- Wait, what’s wrong Mark?” Bob said as he rose up to meet his friend. Mark looked down into the ground.

“Sorry, Bob. I… I got into a fight with Sharon.” He said and he heard Bob sigh.

“Really? Why did you call her? You know that she’s a no good.” He said and Mark gave him a weak shrug.

“I felt the need to tell her about Sam.” He mumbled and he felt to hands on his shoulders. He looked up to see Bob staring at him.

“You have no need to tell her anything about Sam or Tim. She basically said she could care less about what was happening to them. So next time I hear that you called her, I’m going to slap you in the back of your head.” He said with dead seriousness in his voice. Mark let out a chuckle at that.

“Sure.” He said and Bob grinned.

“Good. Come on, let us play some games.” He said and dragged Mark to a table. They sat down and started to play whatever Bob had brought with him.


	6. Un-blame

Mark and Jack didn’t speak the next day and barely looked at each other. It wasn’t the same tension between the two anymore, but neither made a try to talk over the new one that was there. They didn’t dare to.

 

Mark sat on the couch in Sam’s hospital room, cradling said boy in his arms. Sam had been crying for the whole day and only recently had calmed down enough to be silent. He was weakly holding Mark’s shirt with one of his hands while he was curled into a ball. Mark was still humming a calming tone, that was all he could do.

“Dad?” Sam said with a tired voice and Mark felt how the hand holding his shirt twitch.

“Hm?” He hummed and looked down at the boy. Sam’s eyes were still red from all the crying, but they held something else that Mark couldn’t decipher immediately.

“Are you angry at Jack?” Sam asked and Mark felt how his blood ran cold. Now he could see it was worry in the child’s eyes and that didn’t fit him at all. Sam should be happy and laughing, not worrying about Mark och crying because of pain that shouldn’t be there in the first place.

“What makes you think that?” Mark said with a soft voice and tucked Sam’s head under his chin. Sam snuggled up closer before he spoke.

“You two haven’t been talking to each other for a long time now. Are you angry? Did he something wrong? Did I do something wrong?” Sam said with a voice that could only be described as a whisper. Mark sighed and held Sam a little bit harder.

“No, Sam. He didn’t do anything wrong, and especially not you. Please, never think that you have done anything wrong. You have never done anything wrong.” He said and he heard some movement from beside the bed, but he didn’t dare to look.

“But then why are you not speaking to Jack then?” Sam asked and pushed away from his position to look Mark in the face. Mark held back a wince when Sam accidentally pressed into his sore spot over his ribs.

He looked the child in the eyes and he could see the confusion in Sam’s eyes. He bit his lip and finally dared to glance towards the bed. Jack had moved his chair so he was facing them and stared at Mark with something Mark thought was disbelief. He looked back to Sam as he answered in the softest voice he could muster.

“Because I’m an idiot. I blamed him for something he had no control over. I guess I’m still blaming him for it.” He said and Sam frowned. He heard the chair being pushed back but Mark didn’t look back at Jack.

“But can’t you un-blame him?” Sam said and Mark couldn’t help but to chuckle at the child logic.

“It’s not that easy to un-blame someone after you have blamed them, Sam, but you can forgive. That will take time, but that’s something I would at least be able to do.” Mark said and he heard footsteps closing in.

“So you are forgiving him?”

“Not quite just yet. But I’ll get there, I promise.”

Sam snuggled back into Mark’s arms as he seemed pleased with the answer. Mark held him closer and didn’t look at Jack as he sat down beside him. But this time when a warm and comforting hand landed on his shoulder, he didn’t shrug it off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup! A double update! I'm uploading this now because I don't know if I will get the time to update tomorrow. Dad is going to get re-married tomorrow and I'm going to play the paparazzi. I hope that you guys don't mind me uploading this!


	7. A Mother and Angels

Days became weeks and little by little, Mark and Jack patched up their broken friendship. It was slow and careful work, especially when Sam had better and worse days. Some days he would be up and running like nothing was wrong while other days he would just lie down and cry. But there was one thing that was sure; he was getting worse. Despite the medicine and despite the treatment, Sam was slowly getting worse. And the doctor had said that there was nothing they could do. They were trying their best, but there was nothing they could do. Because of this, Tim wasn’t allowed to visit as much.

Mark and Jack fought again, but it was not as bad as the first one was. They were quick to forgive each other when it was over and Sam never knew about it. Sam didn’t need to know, they had agreed on that. What he was going through was already enough for him.

 

Jack sat in his seat beside Sam’s bed and looked down at the two sleeping bodies in the bed. This was one of the few times that Tim was able to visit these days and he had gotten permission to sleep beside Sam since it was one of Sam’s better days.

Jack smiled a small smile as he looked at the two boys. Tim was curled around his brother protectively and held Sam gently. Sam had snuggled up against Tim and seemed to finally have a dreamless sleep. He looked peaceful. Jack looked up towards the other side of the bed and looked at Mark. The other man was looking at the boys with a fond smile on his lips but Jack could see how Mark’s eyes were dropping more and more in tiredness. He sighed a little before he rose up from his seat and walked around the bed.

“Come on.” He said as he pulled Mark up in a standing position. Mark wobbled a little and Jack had to steady him.

“What?” Mark mumbled as he blinked owlish. Jack rolled his eyes.

“Ya are about to fall asleep. Come on, let’s go to the couch.” He said and helped his friend to the couch. Mark followed along without protest. Jack helped Mark down into the couch before finding a blanket and putting it over Mark.

“Ya are just like a drunk when ya are tired.” Jack said with a chuckle as Mark’s head fell to the side.

“Goodnight, ya doof.” He said and turned around to return to Sam’s side. He stopped when he felt a hand on one of his wings. He looked over his shoulder to see Mark looking at him.

“Would you mind sitting with me for a while?” Mark mumbled and Jack glanced towards the bed before he nodded. He sat down beside the human and they sat there in silence for a bit.

“Thanks, Jack, for being here.” Mark said in a quiet voice.

“You are welcome.” Jack answered in an equally quiet voice. Then Jack felt a weight landing on his shoulder and when he looked, he saw Mark’s head there. He looked forward again and let his own head rest upon Mark’s.

“It’s probably not my place to ask, but… Who’s Sharon?” Jack asked and he felt how Mark shifted a little but he didn’t move away from their position.

“Where did you hear that name?”

“After our first fight. Ya told your friend that ya had fought Sharon.”

“Oh. I had forgotten that.”

“It’s been a few weeks since then. So, who is she?”

“Sam’s and Tim’s mother.”

“Any reason why ya said her name when ya told your friend about our fight?”

“Most believable. We used to fight a lot, especially when Sam and Tim were younger. I guess she couldn’t handle the pressure of having children controlling her life. She left some years ago and resigned from all responsibility from being a parent. She never called me or the boys and I never called her. Though I did call her when I found out that Sam was sick, but she just yelled at me for contacting her and cancelled the call before I could tell her.”

“She sounds like a bitch.”

A small chuckle left Mark’s throat.

“Don’t blame her too much. She wasn’t ready for children, especially two. When we found out that she was pregnant, she panicked and almost went into a depression. After she had calmed down we looked up if she could get an abortion. The midwife we met just told Sharon that she should be happy over the gift God had bestowed upon her and refused to talk about abortion. That sent Sharon into the looming depression. It took weeks for me to convince Sharon to meet up with a doctor and not a midwife, and when we finally met him, he sent us to an abortion clinic with a referral. And when we got there they told us that the pregnancy had gotten too far. They couldn’t do it as long as the pregnancy didn’t endanger her health, which it didn’t if you don’t count the depression. The depression didn’t get any better when Sam and Tim finally arrived and it changed her. She tried to take care of them, but she couldn’t. I’m still mad that she just left and refuses to even know what’s happening to them, but I can understand her reason.”

“Dude, ya should have used a condom if she wasn’t ready.”

Another chuckle from Mark and Jack smiled at the sound.

“I did! It must have been broken or something like that, we were otherwise quite careful with that stuff so she wouldn’t get pregnant. But despite all the trouble that cost us, I’m still happy to have Sam and Tim in my life.” Mark said and the happiness was evident in his voice.

“Understandable. Those two are small sunshines.” Jack agreed and the two fell into silence once again.

 

Jack thought that Mark had finally fallen asleep when Mark spoke up again.

“Where does angels come from?” He asked and Jack had to think for a moment.

“Are you God’s creation as some say, or are you a product from something else? Are you born just like the humans are or were you once humans?” Mark continued before stifling a yawn.

“I don’t know if we are some god’s creation, all I know is that we exist and that we have a duty. We have rules and we have a society hidden away from the human eyes. We have a purpose in our life and we intend to fulfill that duty until the day we die.” Jack said and he felt Mark shift a little, making himself more comfortable. Mark’s head never left Jack’s shoulder.

“But where do you come from then? If you can die then that means you can reproduce.”

“We come from humans. Some humans that dies will become an angel. Either a Reaper, a Watcher or a Guardian. But considering how many humans that die each day, it’s very few humans that will become an angel. We live for a very long time and don’t need that many new recruits.”

“How do you know if a human will become an angel when they die?”

“We don’t know until they have died. If they are an angel, we will bring them to our home so they can be taught their duties.”

“And what about those who aren’t angels?”

“We carry them to a place where they will rest forever. They will be at peace there.”

There were a brief moment of silence before Mark asked the next question.

“So you used to be a human?”

“Yup.”

“Do you remember it?”

“Bits and pieces.”

“Care to tell me?”

“It’s not much to say.”

“Tell me anyway.”

“Well, I used to live on a farm with my family. I had four siblings and my name was Sean.” Jack said with a light shrug. That made Mark remove his head from Jack’s shoulder and look at him in confusion.

“I thought your name was Jack?” He asked and Jack shrugged again.

“We get another name as angels. When we first wake up we usually don’t remember anything about our human past. We remember stuff as we grow older, but it’s a very slow process for that.”

“Huh. I see.” Mark said and put his head back on Jack’s shoulder. He stifled a yawn again and Jack rolled his eyes.

“Okay, ya should try to sleep some. Ya’ve been yawning for a while now.” He said and Mark hummed in agreement. Jack could soon hear soft snoring coming from the man beside him.

“... I didn’t mean ya could sleep on me…” He mumbled but he didn’t move away. He let the man sleep on his shoulder.


	8. You Are Nuts

There was one day that Mark didn’t show up on the usual time. He had always shown up within two different times, depending on if he had to pick up Tim from school or not. And the clock had passed the later time he usually showed up. Jack was a bit worried, but he tried not to let it show on his face. He didn’t want to worry Sam. But he caught himself glancing towards the door and the clock more than he usually had done before.

 

When the door finally opened up, Jack was ready to jump up from his chair and scold the other man for making him worry, but the words stuck in his throat when he saw that it was not Mark who walked through the door, but someone he never had seen before. Luckily it seemed like Sam knew the man.

“Uncle Wade!” The child said and smiled towards the new man.

“Hi, champion! How’s Septic Sam doing today?” Wade said with a grin as he walked over to the bed and sat down in Mark’s chair. Sam shook his head and looked down into his lap.

“I’m not Septic Sam today… Just Sam.” He said and Wade’s grin softened.

“Okay then. How’s Sam doing today?” He asked and Sam looked up.

“I’m okay. It hurts but not as bad.” He said and Wade nodded. Wade’s smile faltered when Sam voiced his coming question.

“Where’s dad?” He asked in a small and tired voice. Jack put his hand over Sam’s in a try to comfort the boy, but he continued to stare at the new man. He wanted to know too where Mark was.  
Wade looked conflicted before he sighed.

“Mark couldn’t come today. Stuff got in the way so he asked me to come and check you up. What, are you not happy to see me?” He said, smiling playfully at his last words. Sam giggled tiredly and shook his head.

“Yes, but I just wanted dad.” He said and Wade reached over to pat Sam’s head. Sam just smiled.

“He promised that he would come extra early tomorrow instead. Look, I have a game with me. Wanna play?” Wade said and pulled back his hand before reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a hand console and something fell out of his pocket together with it.

“What’s that?” Jack found himself asking. Sam glanced at Jack before he looked where the angel looked.

“What’s that?” Sam echoed Jack’s question and pointed towards the envelope that laid on the bed. Wade looked towards it and hesitantly picked it up.

“Just a letter Mark wanted me to give someone.” He said and put it in his pocket.

“Who?” Sam asked with curiosity clearly in his voice. Wade hesitated again.

“Someone called Jack.” He finally said and Jack felt how his heart started to beat harder. He rose up and almost reached over to demand the letter before he remembered that Wade couldn’t see him.

Sam got big eyes before he looked up at Jack and then back to Wade.

“Dad wrote a letter to Jack?” He asked and Wade nodded.

“Yes. Mark said that I would be able to find him here and if I couldn’t find him I would ask you where he was.” He said and Jack just stared at him before he groaned.

“Seriously Mark? Have ya forgotten that others beside ya and Sam can’t see me?” He grumbled but paused in his movement when he heard giggling. He looked at Sam that was grinning at him.

“What are you giggling about?” Wade asked and Sam pointed at Jack.

“Jack is there!” He said and Jack rolled his eyes. Wade looked in confusion where Sam pointed.

“Uh… There’s no one there, Sam.” Wade carefully said and looked over to the grinning child.

“Just tell the old man that he can put the letter on the table over there.” Jack said and that made Sam giggle more but it soon turned into a coughing fit. Both Jack and Wade went to pat the child’s back but Jack retreated his hand when he noticed Wade got there first. Instead he steadied the child by putting a hand on Sam’s shoulder.

Worry was present on both adults’ faces but luckily it calmed down fast enough.

“Sorry.” Sam wheezed out but Wade shook his head.

“It’s not your fault that your body wanted to cough.” He said and Sam slowly nodded. He then turned fully towards Wade.

“Jack said that you should put the letter on the table over there.” He said and pointed to a table by the couch. Wade glanced towards the table but decided to humor the child and walked over to the table. He took out the letter and put it down before returning to the bed.

“There he go. Now he can read the letter all he want.” Wade said as he sat down in the chair again. Sam looked from Wade to look at Jack. Jack nodded and walked over to the table.

“He says thanks.” Sam said and then looked at the game.

“Game?” He said and the two soon got engrossed into the game Wade had brought with him.  
Jack sat down into the couch and took the letter in his hands. He looked at the envelop, his name were written on it. He carefully opened it and was met with a hastily written note.

 

_Hi Jack._  
_Please take care of Sam today. I’m not able to make it to the hospital. At least not to Sam._  
_Tim have gotten into a fight._  
_I don’t know much about what happened, just that the school called me and said that Tim have been in a fight._  
_The man I have sent is named Wade. He’s one of my best friends and I have known him since we were kids. He’s really good with children._  
_Please don’t tease him too much._

_-Mark_

 

Jack frowned down at the note and glanced up at Sam. He was still looking at the game. Jack’s eyes went back down to the letter before he dragged a hand through his hair. So that was the reason? Jack had to force himself to not to curse. He shook his head, what was going on in Mark’s life shouldn’t concern him at all. His Charge was Sam and nothing else should matter. But he couldn’t help but to worry about Tim.

He sighed as he put down the note beside the envelope and rose up from the couch. He walked back to Sam’s side and leaned over to watch him play the game. Along with Wade, he helped Sam through the game.

 

Some hours had passed when Sam had paused the game and declared that he needed to go to the toilet. Wade had lifted him down and followed him to the bathroom but otherwise left him to his own device. Jack however followed Sam into the room, he felt like he couldn’t leave the boy at the moment.

Outside, Wade leaned against the wall beside the door to the bathroom while he waited for Sam to finish his business. He looked around when he got bored and noticed the open envelope on the table with the note beside it.

“What the…? When did that open?” He mumbled as he picked up the two pieces of paper. He was certain that he had left the envelope closed.  
He left out a small scream and jumped high when the bathroom door suddenly slammed open. Wade stared at the door as he willed his heart to calm down but no one came out through it. He tensed when he heard sharp breaths being taken. He stumbled towards the wide open door and was met with the sight of Sam obvious leaning on something, but he couldn’t see what it could be since nothing was even close to Sam. But he didn’t think about that since Sam was in obvious pain. He cursed and rushed to the child.

“Sam!” He said and tried to take the child in his arms, but Sam just gripped the air tighter and refused to let Wade take him. What Wade couldn’t see was that Jack was holding Sam in his arms and Sam was gripping his shirt.

“Come on, Sam, ya need to go to Wade.” He tried but Sam just shook his head and his grip tightened even more if that was even possible. Tears had started to fall from Sam’s eyes as his body was in pain.

Wade carefully put an arm around Sam’s chest and the other around the child’s legs. Jack let go of Sam and pried of the small hands from his shirt now that Wade had a good hold on Sam. Sam just cried more when he was pulled away from Jack but he didn’t have the strength to fight against Wade’s hold.

The moment Sam was out of the angel’s arms, Jack rushed out through the door to push the button that would call the nurses and accidently slammed his one of his wings into the doorframe. He winced in pain but ignored it for the moment as he reached his goal and pressed the button.

The nurses came rushing in the moment Wade put Sam down onto the bed again. He was pushed out of the room while Jack stayed in the room and close to Sam as the nurses worked.

 

It hadn’t even taken an hour before everything had calmed down, but it had felt like forever for both Jack and Wade. At the moment both sat beside Sam’s bed, he had fallen asleep after everything had calmed down, but the dried tears were still evident of the child’s cheeks.

Jack held one of Sam’s hands in his own and carefully stroke the back of it with his thumb. His wing that slammed into the door frame was throbbing but there was nothing he could do about it. Not now at least, Sam needed him more.

Wade was staring blankly at the child, he had pulled out his phone and was wondering if he should call Mark or not. He sighed after quite some time and pulled up Mark’s number and let it ring. Jack lifted his head to listen to what Wade was going to talk about.

“Hey, Mark. It’s Wade.” Wade said when Mark finally answered. Jack didn’t hear what Mark was saying.

“How’s Tim? … Ouch, really? Good that it’s not worse. … When are you going to talk to the other kid’s parents? … Yeah, that’s probably for the best. … Ah, yes, about that. Please promise to not freak out. … No, it’s not that disastrous, but knowing you, you would think just as disastrous. … Good. Okay.” Wade said, pausing from time to time to listen what Mark said. Wade took a deep breath before he spoke again.

“Sam had a seizure- Hey! You promised to not to freak out! … Just listen to me! Sam’s fine! It was a small one and Sam’s fine. ... Well, it scared the crap out of me when it first happened. He had gone to the bathroom but then the door slammed open and I found him leaning… On....” Wade said and then slowly trailed off his thought. Jack could see how on Wade’s face as he suddenly realized what had actually happened in the bathroom. Jack couldn’t help to snicker at the expression. Wade shook his head in a try to shake away those strange thoughts and cleared his throat.

“Anyway, I was able to get Sam to the bed and the nurses came in. I’m not sure what they did, but they calmed him down. He’s sleeping at the moment. … Yeah, he was exhausted. That’s understandable. … What? Jack? … No, I haven’t seen the man you have been talking about. … You want me to do what? … Okay, okay okay! Take it easy, man, I’m going now!” Wade said before he rose up and walked over to the table beside the couch. He put the phone down and put it on the speaker.

“ _It’s done?_ ” Mark said and Wade rolled his eyes.

“Yes, and you are now on the speaker. I have no idea how this is going to make you able to speak to this Jack though.” He said and Jack rose up from his own seat, carefully letting go of Sam.

“ _Trust me, it’ll work. Go back to Sam and keep an eye on him, okay?_ ” Mark said and Wade raised his hands in the air. Jack passed him and sat down on the couch, moving the phone a little so it faced him better. Wade didn’t noticed the movement of his phone.

“Fine. Just don’t make me run out of money on my phone.” He said and returned to Sam’s side.

“Do ya really miss me so much that ya are prepared to look like an idiot in front of your friend, Mark?” Jack said with a smirk and a snort was heard over the phone. Wade looked towards the phone in curiousness.

“ _They already know that I’m nuts, so don’t worry about it._ ” Mark said and Jack let out a laugh.

“ _Anyway, despite how lovely it’s to hear your voice again after a stressful day, that’s not the reason I wanted to talk to you. What happened? Wade said that Sam had a seizure, but-_ ” Mark continued but Jack cut him off before he could work himself up into a panicking parent-mode.

“As Wade said, Sam’s fine. He went to the bathroom and I followed to keep an eye on him. My duty after all. After he was done and about to leave, his leg just gave out on him. I was able to catch him before he hit anything. I slammed the door open with one of my wings and Wade came in. Sam didn’t want to let go of me first but somehow we succeeded in making him let go of me and Wade carried him to bed while I called the nurses. I’m not good with medicines but they gave him something that calmed him down. Sam have been sleeping since then.” Jack said and it was silent for a moment as Mark took it all in.

“ _I see. Thanks for telling me, Jack._ ” He finally said and Jack nodded to himself.

“No problem. May I ask about Tim while I got you on the phone?” He said and a sigh was heard.

“ _Tim’s fine. Though he needed five stitches on his forehead._ ” Mark said and Jack heard shuffling from Mark’s side. The voice that greeted him next made him smile big.

“ _Hi, Uncle Wade! Hi, Jack!_ ” Tim said over the speaker and Jack chuckled. More shuffling was heard and Mark was back.

“ _Tim just got here. Anyway, let’s end this call before Wade kills me because I made him run out of money. See you tomorrow, Jack._ ” He said and Jack could hear Tim yelling ‘bye’ in the background.

“Tell Tim we said hi back. And see ya tomorrow, Mark.” Jack said and Mark cancelled the call. Jack sighed and leaned backwards but winced when his wing reminded him that it was sore.  
Jack looked up when Wade rose up and walked over to the table. He picked up the phone and stared at it.

“You have lost one too many screws, Mark.” Wade mumbled before pocketing his phone and returned to his seat beside Sam’s bed, not noticing the angel who had broken down in laughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost forgot to upload this today. Working evening today and I chilled out, planned on not even opening my computer. Luckily I had to transfer som photos from my camera to my computer. Anyway, enjoy this chapter!
> 
> Fun fact: I had planned that Jack would mess so much with Wade so he would be convinced that the room was haunted. But then Sam went and had a seizure and it never happened. At least here.  
> Wade is convinced that Sam's room is haunted.


	9. Promise

“-and as the dragon came soaring down, he spoke in a booming voice: ‘Who dares to trespass my territory?! Show yourself or I will burn you down!’ The heroes trembled under their cover. They had awoken the dragon when they had promised not to. They had to fix this mess, but how? They were chanceless against the legendary beast.” Jack said as he moved his body, not only telling the story through words but with movements as well. The child on the floor in front of him was staring at him with big eyes, completely into the story. The man sitting on the couch behind the child smiled with amusement.

Jack moved his body down, almost so he was standing on all fours, and pushed his wings out while keeping them close to the ground.

“The dragon snarled and roared, never had anyone dared to trespass his territory! ‘How dare creatures, who is lower than the insects, to come to my lands?!’” He said, changing his voice to a deeper and more feral one when he spoke as the dragon. He then jumped up, changing his expression and pulled his wings around his body, as if he was terrified.

“The heroes barely dared to move. To even breath. They were scared, scared for their lives. Even if they escaped the dragon, the kingdom would haunt them down and hold them responsible for the awakening of the dragon. They would die either way.” He said and then relaxed his wings, bowing his head down.

“One of the youngest of their group stepped out of their cover before anyone could stop him. He was holding his magic staff close to him, like it was the only thing keeping him from running away.” He said as he seemed to grip something close to his chest. He still had his head bowed down and his wings were touching the ground, he almost looked defeated. Sam gasped.

“No! Tim!” He said and moved worriedly where he sat. Jack had to fight off a smile as he was proud of how quick Sam had picked up who it was.

“‘We have to fight.’ The boy said. ‘We have to fight, otherwise others will die. We might be able to stop it. We’ll die anyway.’ The boy’s body trembled but he refused to let his voice do too.” Jack said and relaxed his whole posture. Sam was inching closer to Jack as he wanted the angel to continue.

Mark had to admit, Jack was a really good storyteller. And he quite liked to watch the Irish angel move and talk, not that he would say that out loud. Mark closed his eyes as Jack started talking again, though he opened them again when he heard a soft knock on the door. Jack and Sam didn’t seem to notice it and Mark rose up from his seat. Jack paused in his movement to give Mark a questioning look but Mark just motioned him to continue. Mark moved over to the door as Jack continued his story.

Mark opened the door and was met with Sam’s doctor. The doctor glanced towards Sam when he giggled at something Jack did.

“Yes?” Mark said to distract the doctor from Sam. The man looked back towards Mark and cleared his throat.

“If you could follow me for a moment, Mr. Fischbach.” He said and Mark nodded.

“I’ll be back soon.” He said over his shoulder before closing the door and followed the other man. They soon arrived to a room where they could speak without anyone listening. Both of them sat down in the chairs and Mark looked at the man expectantly. Once again the doctor cleared his throat.

“I’m going to be frank with you, Mr. Fischbach. Sam doesn’t have much time left. It could be just a few weeks and it could be months, but I don’t think he will survive the year. It’s merely a miracle that he has been as lively he has been. Most people would have been laying in bed, not be up out of it.” He said and Mark looked down to the floor.

“He’s a strong fighter.” He mumbled and swallowed against the lump in his throat. He knew Sam would most likely die. The nurses and the doctor had said earlier that they couldn’t do anything about it. Jack had said that he felt how much weaker Sam was getting. It was just that he had never had been given a time. Technically he still hadn’t been given a time, but it was something more than he had before. And it scared him.

“He certainly is. But even the strongest fighter needs to rest.” The doctor said, forcing Mark out of his thoughts.

“Is there anything else?” Mark asked and looked up.

“Yes. We are thinking about removing one medication due to the fact that it seems like it causes Sam to have hallucinations. He keeps talking to a ‘Jack’ and he acts like that the person is always present. First we thought it was only an imaginary friend, but it has gotten worse. He-” The doctor began as he looked down in his papers to find said medication but Mark interrupted him.

“No.” He said and the other man looked up at him.

“Excuse me?” He said, obviously not used to people saying no just like that without knowing what he’s talking about.

“I’m very well aware of this ‘Jack’. Even if he’s just something that exist in Sam’s head, he’s still a very good friend to Sam. From what I have seen, despite seeing this Jack, he has no other hallucinations. And he seems happy to have this friend of his, is it really that bad? Can’t you grant him that happiness for the time he has left?” Mark said rapidly, maybe too fast, but he didn’t care. It hurt a bit to call Jack a hallucination, but he couldn’t do anything else. No one else saw Jack so he was nothing more than that to them.

The doctor stared at Mark suspiciously before he slowly nodded.

“Very well. I’ll do no changes then. Now then, that was all.” He said and Mark nodded and rose up from his seat. He walked to the door and opened it.

“Ah, excuse my curiosity, but you didn’t seem that taken aback from the news, Mr. Fischbach.” The doctor said before Mark could leave. Mark paused in his movement before looking over his shoulder at the doctor.

“I had a feeling that he wouldn’t survive. It was only a matter of time.” He said and left before the doctor could ask more questions.

He hurried back to Sam’s room and after he had locked the door behind him, he walked over to Sam and pulled him into his arms. It was only then he broke down in sobs. He might not have much time left with Sam.

“Dad?” Sam said in confusion as Mark cried while gently holding him. He slowly put his small arms around Mark’s neck and hugged back.

Jack had stopped telling the story when Mark had gotten into the room. He had been about to ask Mark what the doctor wanted but Mark had just walked past him and straight to Sam. Now Jack was watching Mark cry. His heart felt heavy and he walked over to the two humans. He put his arms around them along with his wings surrounding them.

They stayed like that for a long time.

 

“Mark?” Jack said and tried to rouse the man that was sleeping on his shoulder again. After Jack had calmed Mark down from his crying, they had spent the time with Sam playing some games. The child had to go to bed when he got really tired and Jack and Mark had ended up in the couch again, Mark falling asleep on Jack’s shoulder.

Mark whined out in protest and tried to nestle back but Jack didn’t let him.

“Mark!” He said and pinched the human’s arm. Mark yelped at the sharp pain and then glared at the angel who was trying his hardest to not to laugh.

“Why couldn’t you just let me sleep?” Mark whined as he rubbed his eyes to force away the sleepiness.

“Ya need to get back home, Mark.” Jack said and that seemed to wake Mark faster than anything.

“No.” He simply said. Jack shook his head.

“Ya can’t stay here. Ya know that. Besides, ya haven’t gotten any proper sleep or a proper meal for some time now. At least, not when ya have been here. And don’t try to deny it, I’ve seen ya yawning a lot more.” He said and Mark gave him an odd look.

“You’ve been spying on me or what?” He asked and Jack snorted.

“Call it an angel’s intuition.” He said and Mark rolled his eyes as Jack smirked. Mark then looked away and Jack’s smirk fell.

“I can’t leave Sam now, Jack. The doctor… The doctor said that Sam wouldn’t survive the year.” Mark whispered and Jack stared at Mark. He carefully put a hand on Mark’s shoulder.

“Mark… Ya can’t stay forever.” He said in a careful voice.

“Why not?” Mark shot back as he glared at Jack. Jack could feel that Mark was getting angry and wanted a fight. Jack swallowed the first words that appeared on his tongue and tried his best to not put more fuel on the fire.

“For one, the hospital won’t allow ya to move in more than a couple of nights. Secondly, aren’t ya forgetting someone?” Jack said and Mark looked like he was going to argue before he paled a little.

“Tim.” He mumbled and Jack nodded.

“He’s still a kid, and despite the fact that he knows that Sam is sick, he probably doesn’t fully understand why ya are spending all your time here. He might think that ya favor Sam over him. Do ya?” He said and Mark shook his head before he looked into the ground.

“No, I don’t… I guess you are right. I… I should probably go home…” He mumbled and Jack nodded.

“I’ll be watching Sam. He’ll never be alone. Trust me, he’ll never be alone.” He said but he could see that Mark was still hesitating.

“We can do it like this. I’ll come and get ya if I ever feel like something is going to happen to Sam. Okay?” He said and Mark slowly rose his head up to look at the angel. The angel closed his eyes and put a hand over the center of his chest. He closed his hand and slowly pulled it away from his chest. Mark watched in fascination as a small ball of light came from Jack’s chest and followed the hand.

Jack opened his eyes and his hand, the small light settling in the middle of his palm. He glanced at Mark to see the human staring at the light. He smiled a little before he moved his hand towards Mark and the light followed. Mark almost jumped back when the light suddenly left Jack’s hand and went straight towards Mark’s chest. As the light went into his chest, Mark felt a comfortable warmth spread through him. When the light and the feeling was gone, Mark looked up at Jack in confusion.

Jack smiled a comforting smile.

“That will allow me to find ya wherever ya are. Almost like a GPS, ya know?” He said and the smile turned into a smirk.

“And it will also let me know if ya have been sleeping and eating properly!” He said and laughed as Mark shoved him away.

“You sneaky bastard.” Mark said with a shake of his head. Jack’s laughter turned into chuckles as he straightened up.

“Go home, Mark. Spend the night with Tim. And for the love of everything, get something proper to eat. I’ll keep an eye on Sam. And if anything were to happen, I’ll come and get ya. It’s an angel’s promise.” He said and Mark sat still for a moment before he rose up. He walked over to Sam’s bed and gave him a kiss on the forehead.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, sweetie.” He mumbled before he gathered his things.

“See you tomorrow, Jack.” He said before exiting the room.

“Goodnight, Mark.” Jack said before moving over to Sam’s bed. He silently prayed that he would never have to make that promise come true.


	10. Take Care

Jack hadn’t needed to keep that promise for two months. And he never reminded Mark of it due to the fact that it seemed like the man had forgotten about it. But Jack wasn’t completely sure about that because he caught Mark rubbing his chest from time to time. Maybe doing what Jack did wasn’t the best thing to do, but now he could at least scold Mark when he weren’t taking proper care of himself.

Two months. They had fun during that time, at least most of it. From time to time, it was filled with pain and cries. But they made happy memories and those are the most importants.  
Tim was allowed to visit more often and Mark was given permission to take pizza and other junk food to Sam. It was a good time.

It took two months before Jack was forced to keep his promise to Mark.

 

It was night and every instinct inside of Jack screamed at him to turn back, to return to his Charge. He desperately ignored them as he pushed his wings past their limits, concentrating on where the small light he had given Mark were. He knew exactly where he was flying and nothing would stop him from reaching his destination. Normally he would have enjoyed a flight in this speed, but he didn’t have time to enjoy it this time. He needed to push harder, he didn’t know how much time they had. All he knew was that heavy feeling in his stomach and that his bond with Sam was getting weaker and weaker. He prayed that Sam would stay strong until Mark and Tim had arrived.

Jack stumbled in his hurried landing in front of a two story house. He was breathing heavily and his wings were exhausted. He noted in the back of his head that he needed to train more on flying.

He almost ran to the front door and tried to open it, only to feel that it was locked. He cursed and stepped back, trying to identify exactly where Mark’s light were. He soon found it in one of the rooms upstairs. He jumped up and pushed with his wings around the house so he reached the window connected to the right room. He tried to push it open, but it was locked. Letting out more curses, he started to knock furiously at the window.

After what seemed like an eternity, Jack saw how the body in the bed move. He didn’t stop knocking and he saw how Mark got up tiredly.

When Mark got his glasses on and noticed just who was knocking on the window, he was wide awake and hurried over to the window. He opened it and let Jack in.

“Jack?” He asked and Jack grimaced.

“Mark, get Tim. I think… I think Sam is dying.” He said and Mark paled. He didn’t ask or say anything, he just quickly moved to put some better clothes on before he hurried out of his bedroom door.  
Jack just nodded before he threw himself out of the window again and flew back to the hospital, his instincts finally calming down from their screaming.

 

Mark pushed open the door to Tim’s room and walked over to the sleeping boy. He gently shook the boy awake.

“Daddy?” Tim said groggily as he rubbed his eyes. Mark gave him a sad smile.

“Sorry for waking you up, sweetie. But we need to go to the hospital. Get some clothes on you, you can sleep in the car.” He said gently and Tim just nodded before crawling down from the bed to get some better clothes on him. During the time, Mark glanced at the clock. It was 1am. He slightly wondered how he would be able to get into the hospital during this time, but that was something he would figure out when they got there.

When Tim was done, they went out to the car and drove to the hospital.

 

The nurse at the hospital didn’t want to let them in first. She continued to say that they should come back when it was visiting hours. After a lot of arguing, Mark and Tim was let in and they immediately went for Sam’s room.

Mark was met with the sight of Sam sitting up in the bed, awake but looking very tired. Jack was holding his hand spoke quietly. Both looked up when the door opened and Sam gave them a relieved smile. It was a strange expressions on the child.

“Sam!” Tim said with a smile before he hurried over to Sam’s bed and climbed up. Sam mumbled something in response and then the two was hugging closely.  
Mark closed the door behind him and walked over to Sam’s bed too.

“Hey, sweetie.” He said and sat down in his chair beside the bed. Jack took his own chair and brought it over to the other side so he could sit beside Mark.

“Hi, dad.” Sam said from Tim’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry.” He then suddenly said as he hugged Tim tighter.

“Why are you saying sorry?” Tim asked as he held his brother. He glanced towards Mark as if he would understood.

“‘Cause I’m gonna die.” Sam mumbled and Mark’s heart broke.

“I know you want me to stay alive, but I’m gonna die. I’m sorry.” He continued and Mark found himself shaking his head.

“It’s nothing to say sorry for, Sam.” He said as he swallowed against the lump in his throat.

“But you are not going to die!” Tim suddenly said and pushed slightly at Sam’s shoulders so he could look his brother in the eyes. Sam just frowned at him.

“Yes, I am!” He insisted but Tim just shook his head. Mark and Jack shared a look of confusion.

“No, you are not! You told me that Jack is an angel, right?” Tim said and he got a nod in response.

“Then he is here to pick you up for training! He’s going to train you how you are an angel and protect humans!” He continued with a big smile, but tears had started to fall down his cheeks. Sam got wide eyes before he started to smile too.

“Y-Yeah! And when he have finished training me, I’m gonna come back and say hi!” He said as he joined in with Tim’s little fantasy.

Jack bit his lip when he heard the two children speaking of Sam becoming an angel. He shared a glance with Mark, both knowing it was a very slim chance that Sam would become an angel.

The two children began to speak about all kinds of things after that and both Mark and Jack just listened. Sometime during this, Jack carefully put a wing around Mark. Mark didn’t mind.

 

It was nearing 7am when Sam had lied down in Tim’s lap, letting the other boy play with his hair and talk for the both of them. Sam was smiling as he listened to his brother’s voice.  
Mark was watching them with fondness and Jack let the family have their time.

Jack jumped in his seat when the door slammed open up and he turned towards it with wide eyes. Sam’s doctor were there, clearly angry. Jack threw a glance towards the family and noticed that Mark hadn’t even moved at the sound while Tim had looked up at the new sound.

“Mr. Fischbach!” The doctor almost yelled and Jack basically growled at the man.

“Tim, don’t mind him.” Mark said in a soft voice as he looked at the boys. Tim nodded and went back to talking to Sam. Mark rose up to his feet and turned towards the doctor.

“Please. Leave us alone.” He said before the doctor could say another word.

“Leave? Leave?! What do you think you are doing? I hope that you are aware that you have broken our laws!” The man said as he angrily stepped towards Mark. Jack stepped in front of Mark and grabbed the doctor by the arms, efficiently stopping him in his tracks.

“What the-?!” The doctor began but Mark spoke up.

“You can yell at me later. Right now I just want to be with my son. So, please, leave.” He said and the doctor struggled against Jack’s hold before giving up. He glared at Mark.

“Fine. Fine! But you will answer to this.” He muttered before leaving the room. Mark looked at Jack and smiled.

“Thanks.” He mumbled and Jack smiled back.

“He probably thinks you have some weird superpower now.” He said and chuckled but Tim’s quiet voice cut it short.

“Sam?” He said and both Mark and Jack turned quickly towards the bed. Tim was shaking Sam but the other boy didn’t move. Mark’s breath got caught in his throat and he slowly approached the bed. Jack simply hung his head.

Tim looked up when Mark got to the bed.

“Dad! Sam isn’t responding!” He said with panic in his eyes. Mark gently took Sam’s hand and held it. Sam had a content smile on his lips and his eyes were half lidded. He wasn’t breathing and Mark couldn’t feel a pulse when felt on Sam’s wrist. He carefully lifted Sam’s head from Tim’s lap and then lifted Tim from the bed.

“It’s okay, Tim. Sam has finally gotten to rest.” He said with his voice full of sadness and tears falling down his cheeks. Tim started to hiccup and clinged to Mark as Mark held him.

Without a word, Jack stepped forward and put one of his arms under Sam’s knees and the other under his back.

Mark watched as Jack slowly lifted up Sam, but at the same time he did not. Sam’s body was still on the bed but at the same time he was in Jack’s arms. Sam looked peaceful in the angel’s arms.

Jack moved towards the window and opened it up. He was about to jump out when Mark’s voice stopped him.

“Jack… Please take care of Sam.” He said and the angel turned around to look at the human. Jack smiled a sad smile.

“I will. Promise.” He said as he cradled the child in his arms. Mark bent his head down and let out a sob as he pulled his living child closer to him.

“Thank you.” He rasped out and didn’t look up as the sounds of wings appeared and soon faded out.


	11. Maybe

Mark was sitting on the couch in the living room, staring up in the ceiling. His thoughts was swirling around in his mind and it seemed like they didn’t want to stop.

He had to stop some tears from falling when Sam entered his thoughts. It had been a week since his son had passed away. He had been a mess, and he guessed that he still was one. Not just as much.

 

The sound of small footsteps brought Mark out of his mind and he looked to the side to see Tim climbing up on the couch. He watched as the child sat down beside him and stare at Mark’s face, studying him. Mark didn’t say a word as Tim furrowed his eyebrows.

“Daddy… Did Sam really become an angel?” He asked and Mark pulled Tim to him in a hug. He closed his eyes as he remembered Jack holding Sam in front of the open window.

“Of course he did. Jack was there to pick him up for training, remember?” He said as he opened his eyes again. Tim was looking at him uncertainly.

“But he hasn’t come and visited yet…” He mumbled and Mark smiled.

“Training takes longer than a week, Tim. Being an angel is a tough job, it comes with a lot of rules and responsibility. It takes time to learn them.” He explained and Tim tilted his head to the side.

“How long?” He insisted and Mark chuckled.

“Many years, Tim. If I have to guess, you two will be all grown up when you see each other next!” He said and Tim pouted.

“But I don’t want to wait that long! I want Sam now!” He whined and Mark chuckled again.

“But you have to! Do you want your brother to fail at being an angel?” He asked and Tim got wide eyes before he shook his head.

“Then you have to wait for him to come and visit.” Mark said and Tim nodded.

“Did you see Sam becoming an angel?” He then asked. Mark nodded.

“I did. He looked so tired that Jack had to carry him. And two tiny, cute wings were sprouting out his back. I know that Sam’s an angel now.” He said and closed his eyes again. He rubbed his chest subconsciously with his free hand as he felt a small tingle through it.

“Do you think Jack will come and visit?” Tim suddenly asked and Mark opened his eyes again.

“I don’t honestly know. He has to train Sam, so he might not have the time.” He said and that thought hurt a little.

“If he ever visits, then he has to show himself. I want to be able to see him too.” Tim said and finally snuggled down beside Mark. Mark started to stroke Tim through his hair.

“That sounds like a very nice thought, Tim. Let us hope that he will pay us a visit.” He said and leaned his head back. He stared up at the ceiling again.

 

Yes, he was still a mess and would be that for a while. But he still had Tim, his family and his friends. He would get through this. After all, he might see both Jack and Sam again.

 

**The End**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is the end of this journey. Thank you everyone for reading and following me on this trip. Extra thanks to those who have left kudos, comments and bookmarked this story. It really means a lot to me! Thank you so much!  
> I hope you have enjoyed this story!
> 
>  
> 
> Some story rambling:  
> As stated in the first chapter, this is a failed one-shot. It became too long(40 pages after editing) to post all at once and with my style, it would just have been messy. It was quite fun to realize that this wasn't going to be a short story, especially I just a few days before basically had a breakdown over the fact I can't concentrate on longer stories. Obviously I can!
> 
> I really liked writing this story, and I hope you have enjoyed it as much. There were a few things I had planned to get in, but other stuff happened and those things never happened. For an instance, Wade's conviction that Sam's room is haunted. Had planned to have Jack mess around with Wade and then Wade having a conversation about it with Mark, in order to bring some happiness into this. Obviously it didn't happen here, but I like to think that it happened "off screen". Why it didn't happen in text, I have no idea. It just simply didn't.  
> There were also things that I hadn't planned that are in. For example, I hadn't planned to have Sam and Tim being Mark's biological children. I had planned that you guys would decide that for yourselves, but when I wrote it just seemed to fit. I liked it so I left it there.
> 
> I might write some sort of a sequel. I have some kind of an idea, but I don't know if I will write it or not. Don't expect a sequel though, since I can't promise anything.
> 
> My personal favorite chapters in this are _I'm Not A Reaper!_ and _You Are Nuts_. Care to tell me what your favorite part was?


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